Rapture through new eyes
by NinjaVsPirate
Summary: This is my first fanfic.   Rapture, a once grand utopia, is now haunted by the ghosts of the past. Laura has lived through the uprising, decline and downfall of Rapture, and is now surviving in the broken city. Based in the Bioshock universe.


Walking down the dilapidated path I stared at the destruction and decay. Only five years had passed but so much had happened. I remember the fateful day it all changed. New Year's Eve, 1958. I was dining at the Kashmir Restaurant with my mother and my father, Doctor Livingstone. He was one of Rapture's greatest scientists, but was never recognised for his work. I remember our family, which involved my younger sister Katie, would sit in our deluxe apartment and Father would recall the same story, over and over. It was the tale of the letter of recommendation Father received from Andrew Ryan, the true leader of Rapture. Although he was not regarded as one of his high scientists Father was still extremely proud. After finding out about the construction of Rapture, we moved to the former utopia, abandoning the surface.

We lived in harmony for many years, oblivious to the impending attacks. Father experimented with several plasmids and EVE, researching for many hours. Mother happily went along with the experiments, becoming Father's test subject. That was until one of his experimental plasmids, an improvement of Fontaine's Electro-bolt, proved too powerful. After this test Mother became irritable and claimed she saw ghosts when Father was scared to give her more. Our family began to fall apart.

Mother, in her insanity, caused danger to my sister and me. I protected her when Father couldn't. Katie and I had a special bond. We would share dresses and toys. She seemed to be the worst one affected by Mother. She was continually abused and Mother always asked if Father was around before pouncing on her, at which point I would pull her off and inject my unstable parent. Eventually, Father trusted her with the staff at the Little Sisters Orphanage, unaware of what horrors occurred in that 'educational centre'. He lied, saying we lived in poverty. If he was found to be creating his own plasmids he would most likely be arrested, despite the 'freedom' Rapture prides itself on.

That Fateful Night

After the stress of our family's ordeals we decided to spend the New Year's Eve celebrations at the Kashmir. Dressed in masks we attended the function. Father knew that other scientists were attending, so he hypnotised Mother with a plasmid. Half way through our meal a large mob approached the restaurant. It had been announced that Ryan Amusements was attacked, and that we would fall in the same manner. Mother complained of ghosts, yet I didn't believe her. Moments later the restaurant was in shambles, total disorder. Masks were flung and I lost my mother, her twisted face mixed with the others, their faces also burnt and disoriented. Fleeing the scene I attempted to rescue Father, but had to leave him behind.

The months after I have merely survived on beans and potato crisps, avoiding the monsters that stalk these halls. I promised I would never become a fool and use plasmids, an addiction that's fatal. Yet survival is impossible without these aids, and without ADAM there is no aid, no plasmids. Lost in thoughts about the past I was interrupted by a giant. Innocence seemed to spread through our city's broken structures, a voice called for protection. It was the first time I had seen a lumbering giant such as that. Known simply as "Daddy" by the small girl at his knees, the monster was large and intimidating. I stared in amazement at the girl beside him. I had only seen the small children briefly, rushing through halls, giggling. I had never seen their purpose. Father covered me from the news of Rapture, often locking me in the apartment. This escalated towards the downfall of Rapture, perhaps he knew of the utopia's impending doom?

Metal clanged and I shook in fright. "Daddy" was looking down on me, his shoulder-mounted gun pointed at my face. The little girl cowered behind his knees. I backed away slowly. Once the lumbering giant realised I meant no harm he instantly became relaxed and continued his usual duties of surrounding the young girl, whose bright yellow eyes seemed to stare in the distance, looking at a completely different view of the world. A scream filled the air and a savage survivor ran to the little girl. Suddenly, Daddy stepped in front of her, pushing his drill through the survivor's body, splashing blood on the walls. Slouched against a wall, the body lay there. The small girl crawled on the body and pulled out a large syringe, a bottle sticky taped on the end. Sticking it into the body, she sucked the blood from the bottle. I was mortified at the sight of the small, innocent girl drinking the insides of someone with no control. Scared that I would be next, I ran only to find myself confronted by a survivor with a blue butterfly mask.

The Survivor in the Blue Butterfly Mask

He wielded a gun and looked like he had recently injected himself with EVE. My mind was racing; my last injection was hours ago. I attempted to form a fireball. I only had 5 plasmids, each one my father made. It sparked, but then fizzled out. Shots were fired and I narrowly avoided them, as I ducked behind crate. I decided to dash to a vending machine. 'Welcome to the Circus of Values' greeted the machine. Inserting my tattered money, the machine suddenly exploded. Shrapnel flung at my face and I could feel the tiny pieces embedding themselves on my arms. Blood dripped onto my dress, the same dress I wore that fateful night. I turned, greeted by the gigantic butterfly, a symbol that seemed to be appearing around Rapture's twisted halls.

Cornered into the moist wall, there was no escape. I raised my arms, avoiding the masked monster's attack. My fingers touched cold metal. They were wrapped around the rim of some sort of hole. "Hidey Hole" was inscribed in crayon, accompanied by a crudely drawn picture of the previously seen "Daddy" helping the small girl inside. Hoping I would fit, I scampered up the wall, managing to kick the monster in the face, flying the mask across the room. It held onto my dangling leg. I pulled up my now scratched leg, pulling it into the small hole with the rest of my cramped body. The survivor was still slumped on the ground. The only escape was further down the hole, into the unknown darkness.

Down the Rabbit Hole

I could only manage to crawl down the hole with my arm squeezed against the freezing metal. It was obvious the holes were built for a certain size to crawl through, and every other size out. My frame had shrunk since all fresh food sources were abandoned. I noticed the little girl's stature being tiny, but considering I had at least eight more years to my name, I never considered myself so small and vulnerable.

Several minutes later the tunnel kept going into more darkness, an abyss of the unknown. Voices and loud bangs occasionally filled the hollow tubes, but they never came closer. A dim light was forming in the distance. Suddenly, my hand slipped, sending my body tumbling down. Then my world faded into black.

Awakening

I awoke several seconds later to liquid dripping on forehead. The sound of chanting ringed in my ears. Several monsters were knelling with their eyes closed, each one singing some sort of prayer. In front of the four monsters laid a table, splattered in blood and adorned with knives and weapons. On top of the table was a corpse of a woman, slaughtered by each weapon. On the walls were several blue butterflies, like the survivor's mask. A large purple banner with the words '' Rapture fell, we will not'' hung above hundreds of candles illuminating the area. Beside me I found an EVE hypo. I immediately injected myself. I could feel the power flowing through my veins.

The monsters must have noticed me because when I looked up they were staring down on me. I could tell I was not what they expected. I could hear mutters of 'The Rapture Family' and 'Lamb' passing through the small group. My mind was racing, I couldn't tell if they would murder me like the deceased person on the table or if they would leave me and keep waiting. This thought process took less and less each time I was faced with a dangerous situation. I have learnt since the fall of Rapture that you can never trust anyone, even the leader you blindly trust and follow.

I decided to go with my head, and leave my heart. Charging up a plasmid, the monsters all turned and stared at another little girl, this one a little different from the last one, who they referred to as a 'Little Sister', skip past, her protector following closely behind. One ran towards her, but before he could reach for her Daddy stepped forward and ploughed his massive drill through his abdomen. In confusion, I hurled my plasmid at another splicer, only for it to miss and hit Daddy. The lights on his helmet turned blood red. I became his new target.

Target

He dashed through the other splicers, knocking each one unconscious. His child was screaming in terror,'' Protect me from the monster!'' I threw out an ice plasmid, freezing the monster, rendering him harmless. I pulled out my Father's ''protection'' shotgun. It seemed to get heavier every time I used it. I was unsure if it was the new bullets I crafted or my body becoming frail and weak. However, my weakness could be treated, with ADAM of course.

A blast of the shot gun shattered the titan into thousands of ice shards, each one dancing around the sobbing girl, landing at her bloodied knees. I wearily tip tioed over to her, not wanting to disrupt her. My shadow was cast over her, a shadow as large as her colossus protector. She turned and looked up at me, her bright yellow eyes breaking through the gloomy darkness. They wondered how someone could destroy the only person they trusted, but they also pleaded, for mercy and a saviour.

The path not taken

The defenceless girl shook, wailing and crying, yet her eyes didn't dull. A small doll, created from the rubble of Rapture, was beside her. It was crafted in the form of her idol, the one who ultimately failed her. I picked it up and handed it to her. She wrapped her fingers around the rope that was the dolls arm. I could tell she no longer feared me. We had created some sort of bond. She got up from her knees and smiled. I found when standing at a close distance that her innocent apperance seemed to slightly disappear. She wore a purple ribbon in her hair and a matching dress, with a white blooded apron. She had cuts and bruises on her legs and arms, but she didn't seem worried. The syringe she held was larger than I last thought. The bottle had obviously been used many times as it had red stains all over the inside. The small girls that had once seemed like perfect roses in a garden of thorns and weeds had suddenly began to fade into the dirty, damaged and corrupt society that surrounded us.

The girl, seemingly unphased by her recent loss, skipped towards the dead monsters. She looked back, noticing I was not following. She took my hand and pulled me along, telling me to ''Come this way. ADAM this way.'' Intrigued by her promise of ADAM I followed, hoping that she would politely give it to me. If not, perhaps I would have to ''force'' it from her.

I followed the girl over to the body on the table. While she stuck the syringe into the corpse I emptied it's pockets, finding a few dollars, a butterfly pin, the same as the mask, ammo and an Accu-Vox audio diary, the main form of communication. Each one stored a different story, a different belief and a different thought, each from a different person. The play button flashed, tempting me to uncover it's secrets. I pressed down on the flimsy plastic button and the worn tape stuttered and jolted, eventually coming to a clear voice.

The Diary of Mary Nay

''Finally, my day has come. The day I pass into the great cycle and become reborn. The Family have been so kind, helping me with counselling sessions when no one else listened, and the hope Sofia and Father Wales genuinely provided me. This act, sacrifice as some nonbelievers say, is the least I could do to give back. Our brotherhood is strong, and since the downfall of the false Father Andrew Ryan, we will continue to strive, until we reach salvation.''

The recording ended and I shivered. I had heard this life's last moments, and last thoughts. I looked up at the scene again. It made sense all of a sudden. The realisation hit me hard, it made my head spin out of control. How could I be so blind? So ignorant? So oblivious? The Little Sister danced around the room, not knowing what horrors happened. Yet, I had the same knowledge as her only moments ago.

"Look! ADAM!" squealed the Little Sister in excitement. She sucked the blood from another broken corpse, humming gleefully, and transferred it into her bottle. She then guzzled down the blood, tiny ruby drops dripping from her mouth. Would I become the next supplier of her meal?


End file.
